RCUK-CIAT Newton Fund Advancing sustainable forage-based livestock production systems using multi-source remote sensing and social science approaches

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Agriculture and livestock production have historically been one of the major components of Colombian economic development and it is one of the top countries in the world in terms of greatest agricultural land expansion potential. Approximately 34% of the land area (~40m Ha) is used for livestock activities, with most pastures dedicated to extensive grazing systems. Agriculture is a critical source of employment in rural Colombia and is one of the sectors most affected by climate and climate change and where solutions to key challenges affecting the productivity and sustainability of pastures and the livestock sector are required. This collaborative project between University of Glasgow (UofG) University of Bristol (UofB) and CIAT will bring together cross-disciplinary perspectives and methodologies to develop RS-based approaches for forage monitoring and management at local and regional levels. The specific objectives are to: 1) develop co-designed work-flows for acquiring, processing and analysis of multi-dimensional multispectral and radar data for trial sites at CIAT headquarters; 2) investigate operational functions for extraction of grass growth and quality metrics from combined airborne/spaceborne/in situ datasets and develop a framework for a forage management decision support system; and 3) investigate methodologies for engagement with smallholders and determine attitudes to and potential barriers of incorporation of such technologies and their outputs into practice. The project will deliver new data to establish a baseline understanding of the capabilities of multi-source remote sensing and predictive analysis tools to provide reliable and consistent information on forage quantity and quality and smallholder capability and willingness to adopt such technologies. Outputs from the project will directly inform forage production management activities and will be communicated to stakeholders via a project website, an end-of-project workshop, and through promotion at further dissemination events run by CIAT.